By Dori Modney (@Dori_Modney on Twitter)

Fusarium Head Blight Risk Tool unveiled for Alberta

Jun 23, 2017 | 2:37 PM

CALGARY – Alberta farmers have another weapon in their agricultural tool box, which will help make decisions related to Fusarium Head Blight.
 
A Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) risk tool has been developed in a partnership between the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and Alberta Climate Information Service (ACIS).
 
The mobile device allows farmers to remotely view hourly updates on the disease severity for their location, with risk based on a seven-day history of rain, temperature and humidity.  
 
Every day, ACIS collects nearly 130,000 hourly weather observations from more than 370 stations province wide.  The new tool provides live updating of a provincial map with the Disease Severity Index for every weather station as well an info tab with best management practices. 
 
A news release from the Alberta Wheat Commission states, “The tool was initiated by AWC and ACIS unit lead Ralph Wright and engineered by technical analyst Dr. Pawel Pytlack, also with ACIS. The interface pulls data from weather stations Alberta-wide. Expertise from AF plant pathologist Dr. Michael Harding, AF plant disease researcher Neil Whatley and AAFC plant disease researcher Dr. Kelly Turkington helped to connect the weather data to FHB risk.”
 
Moe information about the mobile device can be found on the AWC website.